After Merger, HotSchedules is Thriving ABJ Reports

A little over a year has past since HotSchedules, Inc. founders Ray Pawlikowski and David Cantu decided to merge their Austin business into a California-based software company. A move that “did not come about overnight,” they said in a recent Austin Business Journal article. “We had to make sure we had the right partners,” said […]

In January 2013, Cantu and Pawlikowski merged HotSchedules – an employee-scheduling software for the restaurant and hospitality industry – with Red Book Connect, a comprehensive, cloud-based technology platform for the restaurant, hospitality and retail industries; formed through the investments of TPG Growth and technology investor Cam Lanier.

Not only are they solidifying their new roles within the leadership team, “they are still continuing to grow HotSchedules,” the article said. Cantu is now the Chief Customer Officer and Pawlikowski is the Chief Operations Officer of Red Book Connect.

“We are still learning from each other both from a culture perspective and a customer basing perspective,” Pawlikowski explained. “We got into this to grow and we can do a lot more good.”

The article mentioned the Digital Red Book, the company’s most recent addition to mobile restaurant technology solutions and alluded to new product launches, which include a platform for developers and a platform for hiring and retaining top talent within the restaurant sector.

“We are on an upward trajectory,” Cantu added. “For 14 years, we focused on domestic growth, but over the past year we have focused on international expansion in Australia, Asia Pacific including Thailand and China.”

Efforts that Shari Wynne Ressler, founder and CEO of Austin business accelerator Incubation Station said are a “tricky proposition.”

“The right time to let your company be acquired is a matter of taking it through the business cycle, as far as you can go to a place where it’s most attractive and where you know you will get the best return on your dollar,” Wynne Ressler explained.

“We have to focus on the culture of the company as well,” said Cantu. “If we lost that, than we lose the edge.”

Wynne Ressler agreed. “Before you consider merging with a company, you have to do your due diligence on the company’s culture while ensuring that your own company’s culture is well developed,” she added.

“We never rushed into it. Pawlikowski said. “We thought this through. Most important, you have to make decisions collectively.”